Buying Bitcoin With A Debit Card

Purchasing cryptocurrency or Bitcoin can be a hard thing for a beginner to get into. But it’s really quite simple.

People that have not done a lot of research on the topic will no doubt be intimidated at first, but the process to buy cryptocurrency is NOT AT ALL complicated once you get the hang of things.

In the last year, Bitcoin has become the most popular cryptocurrency in the world, and it has primarily been because of how easy it is for people to go online and buy it. Most people buy it through their debit cards, which in my experience buying Bitcoin, has been the easiest and most efficient way to make those purchases.

Some people might fret about giving away their card information to something they do not entirely understand, but with all of the safety measures in place to make sure people are protected, it is a really simple process to register with a digital exchange service, get a digital wallet, and then buy Bitcoin with your debit card, and we are going to walk you through the steps you need to take in order to get started on your crypto adventure.

Get a Digital Wallet

To begin with, you might want to brush up on these digital wallets that people are using to store their Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. They are a fairly simple concept: a digital wallet, Bitcoin wallet, crypto wallet, whatever you decide to call it, they are simply a program that allows you to safely store your Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency offline to protect it from hackers and digital thieves that are out to scam and steal from other users. There are a lot of them out there to try out, each with their own set of features and security measures that should be taken into consideration before you make your first purchase.

I’d suggest you select a wallet that’s going to offer you the most protection for your digital investments. There are a couple I am going to recommend, because they all offer security measures and are available on any platform, be it Mac, PC, iOS, Android. Almost all of them do charge a small fee to transfer your Bitcoin from the digital exchange services into the wallet, and then back again, but it is a small price to pay to make sure that your digital investments in Bitcoin are safe and secure.

The top one I would recommend using is Coinbase Wallet, because it is the one I have used the most and have found the most success with, but don’t let my bias stop you from checking out some of the other ones. Coinbase Wallet has a a very user friendly interface and it is directly integrated with the digital exchange service of the same name, Coinbase. It makes it simple to use and signing up is free. Once your Bitcoin is in your Coinbase Wallet, you will be able to use it to make purchases pretty much anywhere that Bitcoin is accepted. Another one is Exodus, which is a strong contender for the best digital wallet available.

Downloading it to your desktop means it will function offline and keep your digital Bitcoin safe and secure until you are ready to return it to the market place to sell or exchange. The built in graphing tools allows you to see how your portfolio of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies measure up to the exchange rates on the market place. It does not offer a two factor authentication system, which seems to be the standard now for security measures, but because it operates offline and solely on the desktop, the risk of having Bitcoin is greatly diminished. Then there is the program Mycelium, which is a digital wallet that operates solely from your mobile device. It is one of the only digital wallets able to boast that. Being on a mobile device allows it to access different levels of security that are not available on desktop devices, such as being able to mask your IP address through the app itself. So whatever you end up choosing, having a digital wallet is essential before you go on to buy your Bitcoin with your debit card.

Select a Bitcoin Exchange To Buy Your Bitcoin From

This is also not a very complicated process. There are several different digital exchange services out there that act as your personal broker between buying, selling, and exchanging Bitcoin. Not every digital exchange service is created equal, and some will offer higher levels of security than others, some will offer better performance keeping the exchange rates up to date, others are more user friendly than some. So if you are a beginner at the whole process of buying Bitcoin, I have narrowed down the best options for digital exchange services, and I am going to give each service a run down so you can best weigh your options between them and decide what will be best for you going forward.

There are two main points to look at when it comes to selecting a digital exchange service, and those are the security features that they offer, and what kind of fees are applied to each transaction made. Going off these two criteria, I have three different exchange services that will cater to beginners and help smooth out the process of buying Bitcoin. As I explain the benefits of each digital exchange service, I will be providing a detailed step by step breakdown on how to purchase Bitcoin with your debit card.

Buying Bitcoins with a Debit Card at Coinbase

Coinbase is the most popular and the world’s largest Bitcoin broker. If you selected Coinbase Wallet as your digital wallet, the process will be even simpler because the two services are integrated almost seamlessly and makes your transactions more transparent. It is the easiest digital exchange service for people just starting out, it is what I used and I would recommend it to other beginners. But

Bitcoin allows you to purchase up to $150 of Bitcoin every week with your debit card as long as you are in these select counties: the United States, Canada, any country in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore. For every transaction you make on Coinbase, the digital marketplace will charge a simple rate of 3.99% for every purchase or exchange you make through a debit card.

Coinbase offers high liquidity and buying limits compared to other digital exchange services and it is an easy way for newcomers to get into the Bitcoin game. Not to mention, it allows an instant purchase option when using a debit card, which is what we are going to break down later in this guide. The downside to Coinbase is that it offers low privacy when it comes to your purchases, but the reputation of Coinbase can be trusted and the speed at which it can complete purchases is fairly average.

Step 1

You are going to need to create an account on Coinbase. Once you create one, you will need to confirm your personal details and verify you are who you say you are. You will be asked to upload a picture of your ID to make sure of that before you can move on to the next step.

Step 2

You will need to navigate the very user friendly interface of Coinbase and go to the “Account Settings” at the top right of the screen after you login. A drop down menu will appear and you should click on “Settings”. Then select “Payment Methods” which should be on the menu at the top of the page. Then click on “Add Payment Method”.

Go ahead and enter your debit card information. (Note: Coinbase only allows users to enter Visa and Mastercard debit card at the time of this writing.)

Once you have entered the debit card information you should see a confirmation page that tells you that your card has been added successfully.

Step 5

Now you should be able to buy Bitcoins.

Go over to the “Buy” page and you should see a chart that depicts the current trending value of Bitcoin, and beside that there should be a widget that allows you to select the amount you want to spend and how much that correlates into Bitcoin.

Select the card on your account, select the wallet you want to deposit it to (Coinbase will provide you with a digital wallet, but you will want to transfer it to your own digital wallet after the purchase is completed.)

Once the transaction is completed, you are free to transfer your Bitcoin into your digital wallet or spend it however you see fit.

Buying Bitcoin with A Debit Card On CoinMama

This digital exchange service is a Bitcoin broker that completely specializes in making purchases with a debit card. It is important to note, however, that CoinMama will charge a 6% fee for every transaction you make because of the risks and processing fees that come along with making transactions through cards. CoinMama, compared to Coinbase, offers very high purchase limits. You are able to purchase up to $5,000 of Bitcoin every single day, with a total limit of $20,000 of Bitcoin you can purchase every month. Another important factor to take note of is CoinMama is available to use in all counties, but only available in 24 states within the United States:

So if you are in one of those states, CoinMama is a digital exchange service you should seriously consider because of how simple it is to use, how high the limits are, how fast the transactions get processed, and how trusted CoinMama’s reputation is. The fees are high and there is a low level of privacy, but if you can get past those two things then this might be the digital marketplace for you. Here is a breakdown of how to use your debit card to purchase Bitcoin on CoinMama.

Step 1

Go ahead and register for an account on CoinMama. You will need to verify your account before you can move on to the next step.

Step 2

After registering, login to your account and select “My Account”. It will be in the navigation bar at the very top of the screen. You will need to enter all of your information before continuing.

Step 3

At the top of the screen, click on “Buy Bitcoins” which should be in the navigation bar at the top. This will bring you to a page that will allow you to choose the amount of Bitcoins you want to purchase. (Unless you have a stockpile of cash on hand, you probably will only be buying a fraction of a Bitcoin — my first Bitcoin purchase was only 0.0012 of a whole one.)

Once you select the amount, click on the big green button that reads “Buy Bitcoins”

Step 4

Next, select “Credit/Debit Card” as your payment method

Step 5

Here is where your digital wallet will come in handy.

CoinMama does not provide you with a free online wallet like Coinbase does so you are going to need your own. Whichever digital wallet you decided on earlier, you are going to have to put the wallet address in, which will be a series of random numbers and letters. Once you get that address code, copy and paste it into the box provided on CoinMama and select “Complete Payment”.

Step 6

This step is relatively simple if you have ever used your debit card to make a purchase online. Just enter in your billing information and your address.

Then select “Continue”.

Next, enter in your debit card information.

Then select “Continue”.

Step 7

Next, you have to verify your phone number and your email as part of a two step authentication system. CoinMama will send you 4 digit SMS pin, and then an email confirmation link. Once you verify both, you can move on to the next step.

Step 8

Now you are going to need to upload a selfie. A weird requirement, I know, but you will need to take a picture of your face and you holding up the debit card that you are making the purchase with. Make sure the name, card number, and expiration date is visible when you are holding it. This verification will take just a little bit of time, anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes, usually.

But once that verification goes through, you will have successfully purchased your first Bitcoin with your debit card. A long process, but after the initial purchase you won’t need to do all the verification steps again.

Buying Bitcoin with a Debit Card on BitPanda

BitPanda is one of the best Bitcoin broker / digital exchange services out there that is based in a country other than the United States. BitPanda is based out of Austria, but it can be used from any country in the world. It has a relatively small fee, only 3% to 4%, for every transaction made with a debit card. The fees do not show up as a separate addition to the total cost of your purchase. Instead of being displayed publicly, the fees are added into the total cost of your purchase when you go to check out. BitPanda is a very easy to use service, and it very highly trusted among other Bitcoin brokers, the limits are high, the speeds of the transactions are fast, and the fees are low. There is very little downside to using BitPanda as your digital exchange service.

Step 1

To start off, make an account on BitPanda and verify the email address that you use so you can begin the process.

Step 2

Login to your account and select “Buy” at the top in the menu bar.

This will take you to a page where you can select the type of cryptocurrency you want to buy, how you want to pay for it, and how much you would like to buy.

Select “Bitcoin”, then “Visa/Mastercard”, then enter the amount of money you would like to spend on your Bitcoin.

Step 3

Next, you will need to confirm that the amount you want to purchase is correct. Then you will need to confirm that you agree with BitPanda’s exchange rate, which you will see under the “Current Price” heading. You will only have 60 seconds to lock in your exchange rate, so don’t dally around.

Step 4

Now you will need to finalize your order. Select the tick boxes next to the confirmation boxes, and select “Finalize”.

Step 5

Next, you will need to verify the transactions via a phone call or SMS. Whichever you choose, they will provide you with a PIN code to be used. Enter that into the text box on the screen and click “Verify PIN”.

Once you have verified successfully, you are done. Just select the box that reads “Click here to start the payment process”. You will only have a 10 minute period to complete this next part.

Step 6

On this next page you will need to enter your debit card information like any other transaction you ever make online. It’s straightforward.

Then, boom. You are completely done. The Bitcoin will be in your wallet on BitPanda, but we recommend transferring it to your own digital wallet just for safe keeping.

So there you have it. There is your step by step guide on how to buy Bitcoin using a debit card on the three top trusted and used digital currency exchange services available on the internet right now. Once you make your first purchase, keep an eye on the market trends, because Bitcoin can be a fickle beast and will fluctuate in value every single day. So keep checking up on Bitcoin’s market price so you can decide whether to keep it and let it appreciate or cash out and spend it on whatever you want.